


An Evening with the Duke

by Animedemon01



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Fever, Flu, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sickfic, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25785865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Animedemon01/pseuds/Animedemon01
Summary: After Dash fall ill at one of Countess Cleo's parties, his evening takes a turn.
Relationships: Dash Haber/Zack
Comments: 6
Kudos: 66





	An Evening with the Duke

102 degrees. Dash groaned; Countess Cleo would kill him if he was sick on a night as important as this.

He knew the thermometer wasn’t lying, and even if it was, he had more than enough other symptoms to point to him being ill. The coughing and congestion could be blamed on his seasonal allergies, but everything else pointed to actual illness. He had thrown up his breakfast that morning and hadn’t felt up to trying to eat anything else all day. Despite it being a rather warm spring day, he had been simultaneously sweating and shivering. He felt exhausted, his entire body was sore, and on top of everything else he was currently dealing with, he had started suffering from stomach cramps that only seemed to make the already present nausea worse.

Dash didn’t tell Countess Cleo he was ill. He knew from experience that she would simply brush it off as him being a drama queen. Dash knew he could certainly be dramatic sometimes, but that was always about things like the food he was expected to eat, the room he was expected to stay in, or the assignments he was sent out on, never about his health.

Dash had been sick/injured while working for Countess Cleo before, but he would usually just deal with it after he had completed whatever task Countess Cleo had for him. He could only remember one time the Countess had actually bothered to get him checked out by a doctor without accusing him of being a drama queen.

Dash had been badly injured by an explosion during an assignment but had still managed to drag himself to the helicopter with the last of his strength. He spent the entire flight back to the island trying not to cry or scream from the pain of multiple fractured and broken bones, and when he couldn’t drag himself out of the helicopter upon landing without becoming a sobbing mess from the pain, Countess Cleo had him brought down to the infirmary. He spent a couple weeks on complete bedrest and almost a month recovering before he was cleared to return to his duties, and Countess Cleo spend the whole time berating him for getting himself injured in the first place.

Dash knew that he couldn’t see any of VILE’s doctors about his aliment until after the evening was over. Any one of them who could actually prescribe him some medicine to help with his symptoms would also refuse to clear him to go out, meaning he wouldn’t be allowed to leave VILE’s new base for at least a couple of days. Depending on the doctor, he might even end up having to spend a few nights in a hospital bed.

Thankfully, he did at least have time to head down to a drugstore near the banquet hall to pick up some Tylenol to help with the fever and pain, a bottle of cough syrup, and a package of anti-nausea pills. The medications did help relieve his symptoms a little bit, but Dash still looked and felt positively awful.

Getting ready ended up taking him longer than expected because he ended up throwing up in the sink while doing his makeup, which meant he had to brush his teeth again and redo a portion of his makeup. Dash was wearing more makeup than he usually did in order to mask how pale and sickly he looked. He was certain none of Countess Cleo’s guests would notice or care, but he had to keep up appearances regardless.

At the party, Dash did his best to avoid calling any attention to himself and stay away from others. It would be easier to make it through the night that way, and he was sure Countess Cleo wouldn’t be pleased if he spent the night coughing on everyone. Dash initially took to standing near the back of the hall, but after the soreness, cramps, and general fatigue started to wear on him, he was forced to find an out of the way place to sit.

The loud conversation and bright lights of the banquet hall only served to exacerbate Dash’s headache and general discomfort, and just as he felt as if the night couldn’t get any worse, he noticed the Duke approaching him. The redhead sat down next to him, before silently handing him a drink.

Dash gave the other man a suspicious look before attempting to hand the drink back. “Thanks, Duke, but I don’t drink while I’m working.”

“Its only water, Haber.” Replied the redhead. “You were looking a little sweaty under all those layers, and I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“I assure you, _Duke_ , I am perfectly fine.” Said Dash, attempting to stifle his cough. “I have seasonal allergies and forgot to take anything for it. Now, if you don’t have anything better to do than annoy me, I suggest you find something.”

Dash let out a quiet pained groan and winced slightly as his stomach cramped up again. The Duke noticed.

“Haber, I am honestly worried about you.” He said, placing a hand of Dash’s shoulder and looking into his pale blue eyes. “You don’t seem well.”

Dash shot him a glare that came off as more pained than angry. “I assure you, Duke, I am fi-“

He suddenly stopped as a wave of nausea coursed through his body, the taste of stomach acid present in the back of his throat. Shit! Clapping a hand over his mouth, Dash lightly shoved the redhead out of his way, quickly heading in the direction of the bathroom while keeping his pace just slow enough to not cause suspicion. He refused to be sick in such a public area.

Zack, playing the part of the Duke once again, followed Dash as best he could, trying to keep from attracting attention or having the brunette spot him. While he and Dash did not get along too well during their past meetings, Zack had noticed how ill the operative had looked at the start of the evening, even under all that makeup, and honestly felt bad for him. VILE wasn’t known for treating their operatives very well, and Dash always seemed to look particularly overworked.

Dash was thankful the bathroom happened to be empty since it meant he would at least have a little privacy. Of course, anyone that would have walked in would just assume he’d had too much to drink and move on with their lives.

He barely had time to get into the first stall and in front of the toilet before his stomach contents made a second appearance. Dash was vaguely aware of someone rubbing his back and muttering softly to him, but assuming it was just his fevered brain playing tricks on him and did his best to ignore it.

When Dash had finished vomiting, he sat back, feeling exhausted. Despite knowing he wasn’t going to be sick again for a little while, he still felt extremely nauseous and all the retching hadn’t exactly helped with the stomach cramps, either. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned around to see a very familiar redhead kneeling on the floor beside him.

“Ya feeling any better?” Asked Zack, defaulting back to his Boston accent.

Dash honestly felt worse. His stomach was completely empty, but he still felt like throwing up.

“It doesn’t matter.” He replied hoarsely. “I still have to go back out there for the rest of the night or Countess Cleo will kill me. I can’t just leave one of her events without a good reason, and not feeling well isn’t one.”

Zack pulled Dash into a tight hug. “Of course, being sick is a good enough reason to take the night off. You are valid, Dash Haber, and your feelings matter, even if Countess Cleo treats you like you aren’t.”

Between the embarrassment of being comforted by his enemy in such a state, and how completely ill he felt, Dash was overwhelmed and broke down crying in Zack’s arms.

Zack didn’t know why he had decided to hug Dash in the first place, but he had expected that the brunette would shove him away, or maybe even punch him, but he didn’t expect him to break down like this. Nevertheless, he did his best to comfort Dash, muttering comforting words to him until the tears ceased. Once Dash had calmed down, he pulled away, simply looking into Zacks eyes.

“Thanks, Duke, I guess I needed that.” He said. “Ugh, my makeup is probably a mess now, and I’m going to have to fix it before I get back out there. I left my bag with the coat check guy; would you mind getting it for me? Countess Cleo would kill me if I allowed myself to be seen in such a state.”

Zack looked Dash over. Under all that makeup, he was pale and sweaty, and even in the fairly warm bathroom, he appeared to be freezing cold. There was no way he was letting Dash go back out there for the rest of the night, especially with how Countess Cleo’s lavish parties were known to last until the early morning more often than not.

“There’s no way I’m letting you suffer through the rest of the night out there. I’m going to get us a hotel room for the night so you can get some rest, and that’s final.” He told Dash. “Oh, and when its just the two of us, please just call me Zack.”

Dash wasn’t sure if he would even make it through the night if he had to spend it in that overcrowded banquet hall, and Zack’s proposal sounded wonderful to him.

“Okay, but if anyone asks, we’re sleeping together.” He replied. “I do need you to get me my bag, however, as I have thousands of dollars of cosmetics in there, and I do not want to lose them.”

Zack helped Dash into his car before going back for his bag. He left the keys in the ignition so that the brunette could turn on the heat if he felt too cold. Dash looked pretty pathetic sitting in the passenger seat of the red sports car, his seat leaned part of the way back and his eyes closed. Zack had draped his own jacket over Dash’s shoulders in an attempt to make him at least a little more comfortable.

He tried to be as quick as he could retrieving the bag. Not because he didn’t trust Dash not to steal his car, but because he was genuinely worried about the VILE operative and didn’t want to leave him alone for too long in his current condition.

The drive was fairly quiet, but about halfway to the hotel, Dash suddenly let out a pained groan, wrapping his arms around his stomach.

Zack shot him a look of concern. “Are you okay? Do you need me to pull over?”

Dash shook his head. “Just a stomach cramp, I’ve been dealing with them for most of the day. I’ll be fine, I just need to get some rest.”

“Are you sure you don’t need a doctor?” Asked Zack. “I think there’s a hospital not far from here, and I’ve been told that all you VILE operatives carry fake documentation in case of a medical emergency.”

Dash knew he would have to see a doctor sooner or later, but he’d much rather wait until he got back to VILE to get that taken care of. Of course, he would probably get a lecture on taking better care of himself, but it was still better than having to sit in a loud emergency room for possibly hours while he already felt completely miserable.

“I’ll be fine.” He assured him. “I’ll go to the infirmary once I get back to VILE, but for now I should be fine just getting some rest. Besides, I hardly think what is likely just the flu counts as a medical emergency.”

Zack gave a nod. “Okay, if you’re sure. The motel I picked out isn’t too far from here. It’s no five-star establishment, but its private enough so nobody will bother us. Besides, I don’t think you’ll be up to walking through a huge building to get to the room, and with a motel I can park right in front of the room.”

Dash honestly hated motels. They were never as nice as hotels, and he always felt like he was doing something sketchy when he stayed at them. But it was still better than spending the rest of the night at Countess Cleo’s party, and Zack did probably have a point about it being easier for him to get to a motel room when he was this sick.

“Okay, I don’t normally stay in motels, but this time I’ll make an exception.” He told Zack. “But mark my words, if the place is as disgusting as a lot of the motel’s I’ve seen, I will be sleeping in the car.”

Zack gave a light chuckle. “Relax, this place isn’t a cheap shithole. Its like $300 dollars a night for a two bed room, and then you also have to pay for WiFi. It is by far the nicest one in the entire city.”

“I guess that’s acceptable.” Replied Dash.

When they got to the motel, Zack parked near the front and left Dash in the car with the heat on while he went to the front desk to book a room. After he had paid and gotten the room keys, he drove the car closer to the room they would be staying in and helped Dash inside and to one of the beds.

After he was inside, Dash stripped down to his boxers and undershirt. His clothes were disgustingly sweaty, and he was too sick and uncomfortable to feel like he needed to keep his pride. He crawled under the covers and rolled on his side, hoping to minimize the overall soreness.

“You can watch something if you want.” Suggested Zack, passing him the TV remote. “It might help take your mind off this.”

Dash gave a polite nod before turning on the TV. He flipped through the channels, finding not a single interesting program, but it did help to take his mind off his illness.

Zack moved the small trash bin to beside Dash’s bed, just in case he needed it later on, and grabbed him a bottle of water from the minifridge.

“You think you’d be okay if I left for a little while?” He asked the brunette. “I’m going to run to the drug store and pick some stuff up.”

“I’ve already taken some Tylenol, cough syrup, and anti-nausea pills.” Explained Dash. “They haven’t helped much, and even if they did, I still have them in my bag, so there would be no point in running out and getting more.”

“There are other things that can help you feel better besides medication.” Said Zack. “And if you don’t get sick a lot-or at least this sick-you might not so of them. So, are you okay if I run out real quick?”

Dash shrugged. “Sure, whatever.”

He would have honestly have preferred to have Zack’s company the entire time he was there-not just for companionship and comfort, but because he was far from a fighter on a good day, and working for VILE meant you had quite a few enemies to worry about at any given time-but he would never say anything. He’d figured out that Zack was working for Carmen Sandiego quite a while ago and didn’t want to appear weak in the eyes of someone who was technically his enemy.

Before leaving, Zack wrote down his number on a piece of paper and handed it to Dash.

“If something happens while I’m gone, and you can’t or don’t want to contact VILE, you can call me.” He told him. “I’ll try to be back as quickly as possible.”

Zack made sure to lock the door before leaving, and as soon as he was gone, Dash went back to flipping through the TV channels, attempting to find something to take his mind of off how miserable he felt.

As soon as he was out in the parking lot, Zack called Carmen to update her on the situation.

“Hey, Carm, change of plans, but I’m not at the banquet. I’m at a motel with Dash Haber.” He told her. “And before you ask, I’m not here against my will, and I’m not sleeping with him, although he told me that if anyone asks to tell them that. Anyways, he’s really sick so I ended up taking him to a motel for the night.”

Carmen seemed a bit suspicious about the whole situation. _“This seems like a trick. VILE has very good medical benefits, so if he really were sick, he would either be seeing a doctor back at VILE’s new base or going to a hospital under a fake identity. Haber is most likely faking his illness to gain your trust; he’s an expert makeup artist and would have no trouble making himself appear to be ill.”_

“I’m not stupid, Carm; he’s actually sick.” Argued Zack. “He was sweating like crazy the whole time he was there, even though he looked kinda cold. Some of his makeup came off after he threw up, and he looked super pale underneath. I can tell he’s in pain, and he felt really warm when I touched him. The only reason he didn’t go to a doctor was because he knew Countess Cleo wouldn’t believe he was sick. Just let me stay with him tonight; I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Carmen sighed. She was pretty sure she wasn’t going to change Zack’s mind on this. _“Fine, you can stay with him, just be careful. There’s no telling if he’s up to his old tricks or not.”_

“Don’t worry, Carm, I’ll be careful.” Zack assured her. “I mean, I always am.”

Carmen had to disagree with the last part.

Dash had been completely miserable the entire time Zack was gone. At one point, his stomach had rebelled against him once again, and while he hoped vomiting would help relieve at least some of the nausea, after bringing up only stomach acid and thick saliva, he felt even worse. He’d stopped flipping through the channels, as it didn’t seem to help distract him from the pain, and simply curled up in a ball under the blankets, feeling sicker than he ever did before.

Dash only peaked his head out from the blankets when he hears the door open. He watched as Zack walked in, placing a large paper bag on the bedside table, before checking on Dash.

“Shit, sorry, did I wake you up?” He asked after realizing Dash was asleep. “I tried to be quiet when I came in, but that door is abnormally loud.”

Dash shook his head. “I wish I could sleep right now. I’m just so tired, but my body isn’t letting me get any rest.”

Zack gave a sympathetic nod. “That sucks, I’m sorry. Hopefully, the stuff I bought you will help with that. But first I need to take your temperature.”

Dash obediently opened his mouth, allowing Zack to stick the thermometer under his tongue. While his fever beforehand wasn’t high enough to be of concern, he assumed it had probably gone up. When the thermometer beeped, Zack took it back, a look of concern washing over his face.

“103.2, you’re burning up.” He told him. “I’m going to have to take your blankets, so they don’t heat you up anymore, and if your fever goes up, I’m going to make you take an ice bath. If it gets close to 104, though, I’m gonna have to take you to a hospital, since that can be really dangerous.”

Dash protested when Zack took away the blankets. He was freezing cold as it was and knew he would be more uncomfortable without them. But, if it kept him from having to take an ice bath, or god forbid, sit in some emergency room, it was a small enough sacrifice.

Once the blankets were off the bed, Zack fished around in his shopping bag, before pulling out a bottle of pills. Taking one from the bottle, he offered it to Dash.

“Here, take this. It will help.”

Dash looked at the pill skeptically. “What is it?”

“Its Midol.” Replied Zack. “I know this stuff is meant for girls during their periods, but I used it before since my sister had it around, so it works for guys, too. It should help with stuff like the stomach cramps, nausea, headache, and any general pain you have, and it makes more sense to just give you one type of pill to take care of most of your symptoms, than give you a bunch of different ones.”

Dash swallowed the pill, washing it down with a sip of water.

“How long do these things take to work?” He asked. “I’m in a lot of pain.”

“The bottle says about thirty minutes.” Replied Zack. “I also got this thingy that you can heat up in the microwave that’s supposed to help with pain, especially cramps and stuff. I also heard that putting a wet washcloth on your forehead is supposed to help with the fever, so I’m gonna try that, too.”

At this point, Dash was willing to try anything that might help, so he didn’t argue. The heat from microwaved bean bag looking thing Zack had bought did seem to be helping with the stomach cramps at least a little. The cool washcloth proved to have its own issues, as Dash refused to move from lying on his side to lying on his bad due to the pain being more tolerable in the former position. While he did feel a little better, the pills still hadn’t kicked in yet, so he still felt miserable.

Zack sat in the other bed, playing on his phone, and occasionally glancing at Dash. The VILE operative looked absolutely pathetic, shivering from the cold despite his elevated temperature, extremely pale, and very obviously in pain. It was clear the medicine had yet to take effect.

Wordlessly, Zack got up, climbed into the other bed, and snuggled up to Dash, hoping to provide him with at least a little comfort. The brunette didn’t protest, simply leaning into the touch. It was clear he was starved for human contact in this sort of manner.

Dash feel asleep not long after the medicine kicked in, and Zack joined him soon after.

When Zack woke up the next morning, Dash was no longer next to him, but the bathroom door was closed, and he could hear the sound of a hair dryer going. About twenty minutes later, the door opened, and Dash stepped out. He was dressed in the same clothes he had been wearing last night, and his hair and makeup were fully done.

“I’m going back to VILE.” He told Zack. “I’m feeling a lot better, but I promise I’ll still see a doctor when I get back there. Well, uh, thanks for taking care of me last night. I guess I’ll see you another time.”

He left before Zack could even reply.

Zack reached for his phone to call Carmen and let her know he’d be on his way home soon and found a piece of paper next to it that hadn’t been there the night before. _Call me_ , it said simply, with a phone number written beneath.

**Author's Note:**

> So, how did you like my HaberZackary oneshot? I'm going back to working on Scars Don't fade now that I've finished this. If you enjoyed this, I would appreciate you leaving some feedback.


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